Will start verification drive to stop those who can disturb peace: CM Dhami

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made the remark when asked about the demands of seers in Haridwar to prohibit the entry of non-Hindus to Char Dham shrines. The Char Dham shrines include the Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath and the annual yatra attracts lakhs of pilgrims.

The Uttarakhand government will soon begin a drive to ensure that outsiders capable of fomenting trouble are not allowed to enter, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami (PTI)

“Our state should remain peaceful. Our state’s ‘dharma sanskriti’ (religious traditions) should remain protected. The state government will soon begin a verification drive. It will try verifying those who have not been verified properly. No such people should come here because of whom the peace in the state may get disrupted,” Dhami told reporters here.

The chief minister made the remark when asked about the demands of seers in Haridwar to prohibit the entry of non-Hindus to Char Dham shrines. The Char Dham shrines include the Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath and the annual yatra attracts lakhs of pilgrims.

While Dhami did not mention any community or the Char Dham shrines, the Congress said that his remark was a “matter of concern”.

“As far as I know, Muslims and Christians don’t visit Char Dham shrines. I don’t know what he wants to say by making such a statement? What he is saying is really a matter of concern,” senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat said.

In a letter to Dhami on April 17, Shankaracharya Parishad, a council of saints, demanded that non-Hindus, particularly Muslims, be prohibited from entering Char Dham shrines. The letters came days after the country witnessed instances of communal violence on Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti in several states.

Swami Anand Swarup, head of Shankaracharya Parishad, alleged that non-Hindus were settling down in several holy places of the state on the pretext of employment and trade.